Primal Scream’s Martin Duffy dies at 55 after suffering brain injury due to a fall

Martin Duffy (left), who played keyboard in Primal Scream and The Charlatans, has died aged 55, his former bandmate Tim Burgess has announced. Photo: TNS

Martin Duffy, a longtime member of the Scottish rock band Primal Scream, died Sunday (Dec 18) at age 55, his band announced Tuesday.

Duffy, who played keyboard for the band behind the hits Movin’ On Up and Loaded, suffered a brain injury after falling at his home in Brighton, England, the Instagram announcement says.

“We in Primal Scream are all so sad,” vocalist Bobby Gillespie wrote.

The English-born Duffy played piano on the first two Primal Scream albums during the late 1980s before he officially joined the band in 1991. He remained with the group for decades, including performing on the band’s most recent album, Chaosmosis, which came out in 2016.

“Martin was also in possession of a unique wit,” wrote Gillespie, an original member of Primal Scream.

“He had a swift eye for the absurd, the surreal and the ridiculous. He lived to laugh and play music. He was loved by all of us in the Scream. A beautiful soul. We will miss him.”

Duffy also played the keyboard for the English band Felt during the 1980s.

In a separate announcement Tuesday, the musician’s brother said Duffy died “peacefully, surrounded by family and his beloved son, Louie.”

“A terrible shock and we’re in bits but we have such love around us,” Steve Duffy tweeted. “He had a gift with music but even more of one with people. Love you Martin, proud of what you did and all you were. We’re with you brother.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service